IFCC Task Force for Young Scientists
In this issue of the eNewslettter, we highlight the opinions and vision of young scientists through a collection of texts that they have provided and that have been assembled by Dra Rosa Sierra-Amor and Dr. Damien Gruson.
Opinions: "Visions from Young Scientists"
Muñoz-Valle JF, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
“It is important that clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine (CCLM) in Latin America grows in accordance to the development of the needs to establish specialized laboratory facilities around the country. For this purpose, an important field of development is the diagnosis of immunity diseases, which applies to the Immunology related to Rheumatic Diseases (RD). Over the past few years, several new auto-antibodies have been described in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) such as antiperinuclear factor antibodies, antikeratin antibodies, and anti-RA33, and their clinical value assessed, They however have not been successfully incorporated into routine clinical practice.
The most important autoantibody used in RA is the rheumatoid factor (RF), and this is included in the classification criteria published by Arnett in 1988. However, recently anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP), yet another autoantibody has generated interest as, in several studies, it has exhibited a better diagnostic value than RF, and a good correlation with radiological joint damage.
Based on this knowledge, we consider that, in Latin-America, it is important to reinforce the field of immunology and that our efforts should be focused on the organization of courses in this area. Training of young clinical chemists requires time and dedication. Hence, we aim to offer training in this field of laboratory medicine to enhance the clinical application of immunology techniques and thus provide highly competent specialized services to help clinicians in establishing early diagnosis and adequate follow-up during treatment.
Our objective is to disseminate the knowledge of immunology tests in the Latin-American region, thus allowing laboratories to create networks that will help understanding the methodology involved and the clinical utility of these biomarkers. Ultimately, such an endeavor will benefit the population affected by RA that unfortunately is growing and lacking of good laboratory services.
McCudden C.; University of North Carolina, USA
“Current trends in the laboratory are consolidation, point-of-care testing, automation, and value added service. I envision the future will continue these trends requiring a breadth and depth of skills for clinical laboratorians. Consolidation improves efficiency by limiting duplication of services. Large hospital systems within a small geographic area tend to benefit from consolidation, where a single laboratory may provide testing for a region. This trend will continue as it offers not only standardization and efficiency, but also cost savings. With respect to point of care, it will remain a challenge to maintain quality and control of devices outside the reaches of a clinical laboratory. Improvements in technology will no doubt help this situation, but there will remain a need for an awareness of the strengths and limitations of POC methods, particularly as more tests become available.
Another growing trend is laboratory automation, where samples are processed, centrifuged, and analyzed on ever larger and more complex systems. As this technology matures, the capabilities will increase allowing staff to focus or problems and implement more complex testing. While not a new concept, the future will bring an increasing need for clinical consultation and test interpretation. As more tests and therapies become available, it is essential that the laboratory be able to effectively communicate how individual results should be used and integrate multiple results with clinical information. Laboratories will need to provide more of this interpretative information to facilitate clinical staff comprehension and use results effectively for patient care. Together with these knowledge services will be wider implementation of cutting edge technology. For example, as mass spectrometric methods become more robust and less laborious, they will be utilized in routine laboratory practice.
As new methods supplement or supplant current standards, laboratorians will need to serve as information sources on how tests are used clinically. This information will need to be communicated verbally, in scientific papers, the internet, and medical records. Adaptability, experience, and communication, will be the keys to success of future laboratorians.”
Edited by Edgard Delvin
eNewsletter Editor